Latinos Blast Rohrabacher for Position on Benefits : Politics: Plan to abolish health, welfare perks for illegal immigrants draws fire.

Orange County Latino leaders blasted Rep. Dana Rohrabacher on Thursday for his proposal to abolish health and welfare benefits for illegal immigrants, saying the congressman is using the newcomers as a scapegoat to divert attention from his performance as a lawmaker.

“He’s trying to use the Latino community as a whipping boy for his failure as a congressman,” said John Palacio of the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund in Santa Ana. “What we have here is a politician who cannot balance his own checkbook or the congressional budget, who cannot accept responsibility for the deficit, but would much rather place the blame on defenseless immigrants.”

Palacio said several studies have demonstrated that immigrants in California contribute far more in taxes than they use in health, education and welfare services.

During a speech Tuesday night before a group opposed to illegal immigration, Rohrabacher described his frustration with stories he has heard about newcomers who have benefited from subsidized medical care, saying that “if Pedro’s not here legally, he’s not going to get $50,000 for that heart-bypass operation.”

Rohrabacher, who is embroiled in a tough election campaign for the 45th congressional seat, was unapologetic Thursday about his proposal to strip away the “package of goodies” tapped by some immigrants in the country illegally.

“What we’re talking about is our own social services breaking down, our criminal justice system breaking down,” Rohrabacher said. “The fabric of our society is fraying. There’s a major strain on the system. If we continue to give free money, free medical care, free education, free social services to anyone who can make their way across our border, it will bankrupt our country.”

Rohrabacher acknowledged that he had not seen any studies that validate his position, saying the proposal’s underpinnings are “mainly anecdotal, I have to admit that.” He said, however, that he expects his beliefs to be proven true as the issue is debated in the months to come.

“People are coming from across the world in order to get their hands on this free package of benefits we offer,” Rohrabacher said. “Unless you take away the incentives, there’s no way to keep them out. It’s a simple solution, but requires hard choices and people to be tough. We simply have to have the intestinal fortitude in saying no in giving away the taxpayer’s dollars to people here illegally.”

Rohrabacher said he does not envision elimination of life-sustaining services such as emergency medical care.

“We shouldn’t be spending tens of thousands of dollars to do extensive medical work, but if someone needs patching up enough to get them back to their home country, I have no problem with that,” he said.

Several Latinos said they were angered by Rohrabacher’s use of the name “Pedro,” calling it a “derogatory remark” to lump together all immigrants from Mexico and other Latin countries.

“My name is not Pedro,” said Rueben Martinez, a Santa Ana activist. “Pedro is a name that’s highly recognized in Mexico. Many highly respected people bear it. It comes from St. Peter. The way he used the name really upset me.”

Art Montez, an urban planner and activist, was more blunt.

“It’s like what happened in Germany after World War I. We’re now blaming the downtrodden,” he said. “Maybe he wants to become the David Duke of the Republican Party.”

Rohrabacher countered that such rhetoric is “a fine way to deflect from the real argument, which is we shouldn’t be giving money to people here illegally. You can believe that and still not be a racist.”

He also noted that he was married for three years to a Latina and that he took pains during his speech Tuesday night to make it clear “six or seven times that anyone who looks at this issue should proceed with love in their heart and bear no malice.”

“I’m certainly not anti-Hispanic, I’m certainly not anti-immigrant,” Rohrabacher said. “All of us came from somewhere else. But the word has gotten out all over the world that the goodies are here in the U.S.”

FRANKING FLAP

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